


The sun sets in the west

by VelourFanClub (toomanysorrows)



Category: Chinese History RPF, Historical RPF, Original Work
Genre: Civil War, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Rebellion of the Seven States, consequences of rebellion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-18 09:35:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28864896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toomanysorrows/pseuds/VelourFanClub
Summary: A woman sees her son off to war, and the aftermath.
Kudos: 3





	The sun sets in the west

**Author's Note:**

> I was reading about Han dynasty history for an rpg, read about this event, thought "wow that's actually a really big deal" and decided I wanted to write something about it. This short piece was the result.
> 
> (was it worth staying up till 1:00 am to write this when I have to study in the morning? Who knows)
> 
> I also included a short historical summary at the end, so if you want those, feel free to skip to that, I just didn't want to lead with it.

It had been a spring morning when she last saw him. A bright sun dried the puddles that lay in their courtyard, a result from last night’s spring rains. Small leaves fell down from the blossoming trees, covering the garden in a soft white blanket.

The mood had been rather festive, for a group of men setting off to war. They stood there, gleaming in their new armour, making jokes and boasting about what they would do to the enemy. But it was normal, wasn’t it? Their cause was just, to liberate the emperor from his wicked advisors and avenge the wrongs that had been done to the kings of the east. How could a war for such a righteous cause go anything less than splendid?

He’d looked so much like his father. She could still remember it, her late husband riding out to help the cause of emperor Gaozu and unite the empire. Mind, you, the mood had been different then, much less confident. They'd held each other close the night before, in fear that it would be the last one. But it hadn't been the last, and her husband's courage had secured them this position in one of the many eastern kingdoms.

Now her son would be setting off just like him, carrying the same blade she'd given to her love all those years ago, in the hope that she might still help him somehow, despite the distance. A pang of foreboding hit her. A stray thought of what would happen when he left. After all, even the most righteous wars had their cost, hadn’t they? But she squashed that thought quickly. Everything would go well, and before the year was over she'd be able to welcome him home in triumph.

\----

Months had passed, and autumn had come with no news of her son. There had been other news, of course. How the alliance of the seven states had besieged Liang, their slow starvation when the imperial army refused to engage in open battle, the treachery of the barbarians when they killed the alliance’s leader, how all of the seven fell one by one. But nothing of her son, or any of the men he'd gone to war with.

One day, a group of men had come to court, carrying the banners of Han and seals of authority. The regent received them with all due honours, with ceremonies and banquets and entertainments. In these circumstances, it did not do to offend anyone sent by the emperor. The next day, the highest ranking of their number stood in the throne roomand announced the sanctions the emperor seemed fit to impose on their kingdom. The prince was ordered to commit suicide, with a young cousin being put in his place. Half the kingdom (including her family's estates) were to become under direct authority of the emperor. The prisoners of war would be sent to the frontier, to fight the barbarians instead of their kinsmen. And that was that. 

It surprised her when one of the officials came to her, a bundle wrapped in cloth in his arms.

"You are madame Zhang, correct?"

She nodded demurely, too surprised to give a proper answer. He handed her the bundle as he spoke. There was respect in his tone, but very little compassion. As if this was simply another task to get out of the way while he was here.

"I found your son during the campaign, starving along the roadside. He could probably have sold this to get some food but... he made us promise to bring this back to you."

She could only nod as she numbly unwrapped the bundle, finding the sword her son had taken with him on campaign. After a mumbled thank you on her part, the man left with a curt bow. 

She looked out of a nearby window. An early snow had started falling in the garden outside. It promised to be a harsh winter.

**Author's Note:**

> Historical context:  
> When Liu Bang seized power and founded the Han dynasty, he compromised between two models of China, that of a China under one strongly unified emperor like the Qin and the model of China as a loose confederacy of kingdoms, like the eastern Zhou had been. The land to the west of the Hangu pass, the old Qin heartland, was ruled directly under him in the old Qin fashion. The land east of it was given to supporters as subservient kingdoms (though it didn't take long for him to replace them all with family members.)
> 
> However, it was soon clear to subsequent emperors that these kingdoms, who often cared very little for what the emperor thought they should do, were a threat to the stability of the empire and the rule of the emperor. All excuses, often very flimsy, were used to put sanctions on kingdoms by replacing kings, confiscating their land or dividing them into smaller, less threatening states. Eventually, this lead to the Rebellion of the Seven states in 154 BCE under the leadership of the king of Wu. Despite some initial success however, the hit and run and scorched earth tactics of the imperial army soon defeated the rebels. Afterwards, many of the kingdoms in the east (either directly part of the rebellion or somehow connected to it) received harsh reprisals. The end result was that the imperial state had firm control of the region now.
> 
> If the rebellion had worked, the Han dynasty would likely have fallen apart into many fragmented states, proving to be a short aberration in Chinese history. As it stands, it cemented the idea of one unified state under an imperial dynasty as the model for Chinese states for the coming centuries.


End file.
